A place to show off what I've been working on. I'm hoping there aren't too many times I have to stop to think, do I want anyone to know that's how my project turned out?
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Wednesday, September 30, 2015

This Saturday, October 3rd, I'll be at the Gustavus Adolphus Art and Craft show from 9am to 4pm in NE Minneapolis. I've done this show several times and they are very welcoming and have a nice variety of vendors. The weather is supposed to be nice and sunny so it should be a good day for those in tents outside as well as the vendors indoors.

Monday, July 27, 2015

I was thinking of titling this, what a mess. But considering how much I have stuffed into a small place it isn't bad. This is just (most of) my dye. I won't show you where I stash my stencils and other items. And that shelf over there and....

For one of the art fairs I applied to they wanted a picture of your work area. I assume it was to make sure you actually made the art yourself rather then buying and reselling. Everything I offer started out plain white and I turned it colors.

Friday, July 24, 2015

I'm not going to make a comment about shades of gray. Black is a tough color to dye. You have to use a lot of dye to get it dark, but it still frequently will not be pure black. The scarf is just two colors, black and brown. But because I clamped it so the dye couldn't get to part of it the dye separated some giving shades to it. And the brown looks almost metallic. Steam set dye on silk

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

I had a picture in a post long ago how the salt used to make patterns in the dye holds on to the color, giving me colored salt. Rather than throwing it away every time I reuse it, keeping the colors in separate bowls. I wanted to see if I could have the color on the salt go back on to a scarf.

First is a pic of the dry salt in a bowl and some of it sprinkled on a scarf

After sprinkling the rest of the salt on the scarf I misted it thoroughly to rinse the dye onto the scarf. Here you can see the color did migrate onto the scarf. The salt didn't have much color left on it.

And here are two finished scarves after being steamed and ironed. Very pretty, I think. The one on the left I used both blue and purple salt so the colors are mixed.

But now I can't do it again until I do more 'regular' salted ones since I don't have precolored salt. Hmmm, I wonder how colorful cake sugar sprinkles would work.... But those are such small bits.

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Similar to a previous post, this dye powder doesn't look much like the final color. Forest Green this time. The blue powder in it will normally be the last to dissolve. And the last picture a finished product.

Monday, July 20, 2015

It is interesting how some dye powders look in jar are very different from how they look on fabric since they're made up of a mix of different colors. All of the pictures below are of Palamino Gold.

The first one is the dye powder right out of the jar, the second with a little water starting to dissolve it.

The third one is of the dregs after most of the powder has dissolved and been poured off. Fuchsia can be a bit of a challenge to get properly dissolved. Warmer water helps. But then you have to let the dye mix cool some or it will soften the soy wax on the shirt.

The last pic is of a finished shirt. I have no idea why it is upside down. I even tried to turn the pic. Oh well.

Friday, June 5, 2015

This is the second year for me at the Eagan Art Festival. It is in Central Park in Eagan June 27th 9am to 5pm and 28th 10am to 5pm, in front of the Community Center. There is a paved path around the outside of the booths. You still have to cross some grass to get to all the booths but it makes it easier. If you need a rest the Community Center is open and air conditioned. There are food booths outside or a little cafe inside.

This is a very family friendly event with activities the kids can do in the tent. You can contribute to a community mural, watch some artist demonstrations, find out more about the classes at the Eagan Art Center and enjoy the live entertainment.

Monday, March 23, 2015

This Saturday, March 28th, I'll be participating in the Arts @ the Oval at the Roseville Skating Center / Oval Roseville MN from 10am to 5pm. It is the first time I'm doing this show. It is all handmade so will be nice quality. And give you a show to tide you over until the summer ones start.

Monday, February 23, 2015

I've been playing with dots lately. How the silk is prepared makes a difference in the resulting pattern. Both scarves were stretched on a frame first and I used Jacquard Red Label steam set dye.

The nice, round dots are from when the silk is dampened evenly first. The dye spreads evenly into a circle. Since I didn't let the fabric and dye dry between colors the dots blend together.

The one with the irregular dots I treated with spray starch first and waited for it to dry. I let the dots dry between colors so they wouldn't blend. You can see how the dye wicked along the fibers in a much different way. It also has a more defined line around the outside of the dot. This is related to when you spill something on fabric you should wet it (depending on the fabric) so it doesn't have such a defined line.

Sunday, February 8, 2015

This is a scarf that has the salt still on it. Before I remove it from the frame and steam it. You can really see how it makes the pattern. Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of it after it is steamed. This will be a really dark blue after steaming and washing out the extra dye.

Friday, February 6, 2015

Another scarf, this one rayon in ruby red with leaves. The leaves are batik meaning I put wax on the scarf before dyeing. So the pattern is on both sides, it is reversible. It also means it doesn't change the texture of the scarf and they won't wear off.
I like the fabric of these scarves. They're a soft, lightweight rayon. More drapey than crisp. And they feel really nice against the skin.

Thursday, February 5, 2015

A scarf using salt to create the design. I've shown my frame in a previous post, but here is another example of the pattern that is produced by sprinkling rack salt on the wet dye. As the salt attracts the moisture, the color moves with it. And the blue looks so nice, very rich. It looks like it should have texture just from the color pattern. Since it is a steam set dye it is washable also.